Torah crown. Probably Istanbul, Ottoman Empire (today Turkey), [late 19th or early 20th century].
Silver, pierced, repoussé, and stamped (marked with a "tughra" mark, in use in the years 1876-1918, and with a Ottoman fineness mark).
Cylindrical Torah crown, open both at the top and at the base. Structure and decorative elements include thirteen tapering arches, curving slightly forward at their tips. Arches with recurrent, symmetrical vegetal pattern which includes a large flower encircled by smaller flowers and leafy elements. Soldered onto the interior at the base is a flat, broad, rectangular silver rod with two circular openings for inserting the Torah scroll handles.
Height: 13-14 cm. Diameter at base: 27 cm. Diameter of upper opening: 30.5 cm. Overall good condition. Slight warping. Minor fractures and fissures at connection lines between several pairs of adjacent arches.
For an identical Torah crown from Istanbul, see: The Center for Jewish Art (CJA), Item No. 903.
